Page 324 - THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS

The Last of the Mohicans

‘Your pardon, monsieur,’ rejoined the Frenchman,
suffering a slight color to appear on his dark cheek. ‘There
is a vast difference between understanding and speaking a
foreign tongue; you will, therefore, please to assist me

still.’ Then, after a short pause, he added: ‘These hills
afford us every opportunity of reconnoitering your works,
messieurs, and I am possibly as well acquainted with their
weak condition as you can be yourselves.’
‘Ask the French general if his glasses can reach to the
Hudson,’ said Munro, proudly; ‘and if he knows when
and where to expect the army of Webb.’
‘Let General Webb be his own interpreter,’ returned
the politic Montcalm, suddenly extending an open letter
toward Munro as he spoke; ‘you will there learn,
monsieur, that his movements are not likely to prove
embarrassing to my army.’
The veteran seized the offered paper, without waiting
for Duncan to translate the speech, and with an eagerness
that betrayed how important he deemed its contents. As
his eye passed hastily over the words, his countenance
changed from its look of military pride to one of deep
chagrin; his lip began to quiver; and suffering the paper to
fall from his hand, his head dropped upon his chest, like
that of a man whose hopes were withered at a single blow.

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